[NY TIMES] Bipartisan Sentencing Overhaul Moves Forward, but Rests on Trump

Os Trigonum · Nov 13, 2018

Bipartison sentencing reform bill making its way through Congress

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/us/politics/prison-sentencing-criminal-justice-reform.html
(permalink https://nyti.ms/2DhqWXi )

Bipartisan Sentencing Overhaul Moves Forward, but Rests on Trump
By Nicholas Fandos and Maggie Haberman
Nov. 12, 2018

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators has reached a tentative deal on the most substantial rewrite of the nation’s sentencing and prison laws in a generation, giving judges more latitude to sidestep mandatory minimum sentences and easing drug sentences that have incarcerated African-Americans at much higher rates than white offenders.

The lawmakers believe they can get the measure to President Trump during the final weeks of the year, if the president embraces it.

The compromise would eliminate the so-called stacking regulation that makes it a federal crime to possess a firearm while committing another crime, like a drug offense; expand the “drug safety valve” allowing judges to sidestep mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenders; and shorten mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, according to draft text of the bill obtained by The New York Times.

It would also retroactively extend a reduction in the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine signed into law in 2010, potentially affecting thousands of drug offenders serving lengthy sentences.

“We have the clearest path forward that we have had in years,” said Holly Harris, the executive director of the Justice Action Network, a bipartisan coalition arguing for an overhaul. “This would be the first time that these members have voted on a piece of legislation that turns away from the lock-’em-up-and-throw-away-the-keys policies of the 1990s. That is groundbreaking.”

Lawmakers and outside advocates involved in the push expect Mr. Trump to render his judgment on the package as soon as this week. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and the leading voice within the White House for the changes, is likely to brief Mr. Trump on the bill during a broader discussion of legislative priorities with top policy officials on Tuesday, according to one senior administration official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the plans. And at least two influential Republican senators were lobbying the president in its favor.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, has told the senators he will bring the package up for a vote if they can show they had the support of at least 60 senators. Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, a vocal advocate of such changes, committed to putting the compromise on the House floor in a lame-duck session that begins on Tuesday if Mr. Trump endorses it and it can clear the Senate.

“Speaker Ryan has long advocated for criminal justice reform,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ryan. “The House passed legislation earlier this year, and we are hopeful the Senate will act so we can get a bill to the president’s desk.”

The support of the famously mercurial Mr. Trump is by no means guaranteed. But if they can secure an endorsement, senators say they can move quickly on the kind of bipartisan achievement that has eluded Mr. Trump — and bedeviled senators and outside advocates of the overhaul for years.

The effort has brought together an unlikely coalition of advocacy groups from the left and the right, including the billionaire conservative brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch and the American Civil Liberties Union. But with the arrival of the Trump administration and its return to tough-on-crime policies, many believed the chances of changing federal law were all but shot.

The bill, called the First Step Act, is more modest than the much-trumpeted set of changes that stalled in the Senate last term, but its provisions are still far-reaching and could win support across the ideological spectrum. It creates a suite of programs and incentives intended to reduce recidivism and prohibits the shackling of female inmates while pregnant, among other prison-focused measures.

In contrast to the 2015 proposal, the elimination of the “stacking” provision and the reduction of mandatory minimums for nonviolent offenders would not apply retroactively — a concession by Democrats that greatly narrows the impact of the changes for the current prison population.

The latest compromise was crafted by Senators Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa; Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois; and Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, in conjunction with Mr. Kushner. Those senators won a promise from Mr. Trump in August that he would consider backing a bill during the lame-duck session. Mr. Grassley, the Judiciary Committee chairman, and another senior Republican on that committee, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have lobbied Mr. Trump in the months since.

If Mr. Trump supports the package, senators will still be up against a rapidly closing legislative window — Congress is set to break in mid-December — and certain opposition from conservative Republicans in both the Senate and the House.

Democrats could also throw up roadblocks if liberals think they could get a better deal once Democrats take control of the House.

order federal prosecutors to pursue the toughest possible charges and sentences for crime suspects, reversing Obama-era efforts to ease such penalties for some nonviolent drug offenders. And he vigorously opposed legislative compromise, going head-to-head not only with Mr. Grassley but also with Mr. Kushner.

Mr. Kushner has had several meetings with Matthew G. Whitaker, the new acting attorney general, who has signaled that he is open to the changes. The effort could be revived in the next Congress if he and allies are unable to succeed in the short term.

Mr. Kushner has also traveled with Vice President Mike Pence in recent days to brief the vice president on the latest developments, the administration official said.

If Mr. Trump offers his support this week, Mr. Grassley would introduce the bill within days. Mr. Durbin would then likely endorse it and lobby fellow Democrats.

Emily Hampsten, a spokesman for Mr. Durbin, said he was “negotiating in good faith, but there won’t be any agreement on a criminal justice reform compromise unless and until President Trump supports it and asks the Republicans who control both chambers of Congress to move it forward.”

The senators believe they can win over most Democrats and, with cover from Mr. Trump, a large block of Republicans. But they fear outspoken conservative opponents to liberalizing sentencing laws, especially Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, could pull Mr. Trump out of their camp.

Then there is the House, which passed a prison bill that excluded any modifications to sentencing laws this year by an overwhelming margin. The addition of sentencing changes is likely to sweeten the deal for Democrats and turn off some Republicans. A Democratic strategy of delay until next year comes with substantial risks — Senate leaders and the White House could withdraw support. A spokesman for Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader, declined to comment.
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NewRoxFan · Nov 13, 2018

This would seem a success for son-in-law so I fully expect trump to sign this, especially since it gives him the chance to show he works bi-partisan.

DFWRocket · Nov 13, 2018

I thought Trump said he would support this bill a few weeks ago.

Os Trigonum · Nov 14, 2018

DFWRocket said: ↑

I thought Trump said he would support this bill a few weeks ago.
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sounds like he's pretty much behind it

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/us/politics/prison-sentencing-trump.html

SamFisher · Nov 20, 2018

Moves forward with bipartisan support, subsequently unilaterally murdered by Mitch "we need more bipartisanship" McConnell aka, the alltime Cockblock of democracy and representative government.

When they write the obituary for the Unites States of America, he will be named prominently.

B-Bob · Nov 20, 2018

SamFisher said: ↑

...
When they write the obituary for the Unites States of America, he will be named prominently.
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Yep. If academic presses even exist in the future USA, it will be Gingrich and McConnell headlining this story, maybe with a guest appearance from Roger Ailes.

Liimbaugh and the noxious heirs of 45 will be disappoint.

JuanValdez · Nov 20, 2018

DFWRocket said: ↑

I thought Trump said he would support this bill a few weeks ago.
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I think we all know by now that what Trump said a few ago on anything doesn't matter going forward. But I hope he does sign it. I think it'd be a feather in his cap and a credit to the Republicans generally.

Os Trigonum · Dec 15, 2018

hard to believe this article is in the NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/us/politics/jared-kushner-criminal-justice-bill.html

For Kushner, Criminal Justice Has Been a Personal Issue and a Rare Victory

Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, advocated the criminal justice overhaul legislation.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

Image
By Annie Karni
Dec. 14, 2018

WASHINGTON — The day after President Trump announced his support for a bipartisan criminal justice overhaul bill in the Roosevelt Room, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, arrived in the Oval Office to give him a dose of political reality. He was not going to bring the bill to the Senate floor until next year, Mr. McConnell told the president.

Mr. Trump called for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the administration’s driving force behind the bill, to join the meeting and hear the news himself. As Mr. Kushner entered the Oval Office, Mr. McConnell joked that he felt like he had heard from everyone Mr. Kushner knew.

“That’s not true,” Mr. Kushner replied, according to administration officials. “I have a lot more people.”

And he did.

Because Mr. Trump agreed that the bill had to wait, according to administration officials, Mr. Kushner enlisted Vice President Mike Pence to explain to the president that waiting until next year, when a House controlled by the Democrats would then vote on the bill, would most likely result in a version that he would not like. Mr. Kushner called Rupert Murdoch, his son Lachlan Murdoch and Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director who is now a senior executive at Fox, to release a statement backing his bill.

Mr. Kushner also appeared on “Hannity” on Fox News in an effort to make clear to the president’s base and Republican senators on the fence that even Sean Hannity, the hard-right host, was supportive of it.

The bill’s advocates say Mr. Kushner’s efforts were part of the reason Mr. McConnell reversed course, announcing that the Senate would vote on the bill next week. But even more important was his ability, over a course of years, to make Mr. Trump comfortable with the need for criminal justice overhaul in the first place.

“The bipartisan coalition was there before Jared showed up,” said Ronald A. Klain, a former senior official in the Obama and Clinton administrations. “The Koch brothers deserve credit for that. But if Jared got the president to be for it, that is a key part of getting it done, and he does deserve credit for that.”

In a statement, Mr. Kushner played down his role. “For all those who are deserving of a second chance, this legislation will make a meaningful and measurable difference in their lives,” he said. “We could not have reached this point without the leadership and vision of the president.”

But for Mr. Kushner, it was a rare success after perhaps the most difficult period he has faced as a member of the Trump family and as a high-ranking official in the Trump White House.

close relationship with Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, whom he has defended even after intelligence agencies concluded that the prince ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist, has generated bitter criticism from even Republicans. Within the White House, where Mr. Kushner has feuded with John F. Kelly, the chief of staff and technically his superior, his attempt to replace him with Nick Ayers, an ally, backfired when Mr. Ayers would not agree to Mr. Trump’s conditions for the job.

And other issues on which Mr. Kushner has focused have gotten little traction. The release of his Middle East peace plan has been delayed until next year, and some of the top people on his team tasked with innovating the government have already left the Trump administration.

But criminal justice is something personal. Mr. Kushner’s father, after being sentenced in 2005, served 14 months in an Alabama federal prison for tax evasion, witness tampering and making illegal donations.

“Jared is committed in a way you can only be when you’ve seen your daddy hurt,” said Van Jones, a liberal CNN host who has worked closely with Mr. Kushner on the issue. “What I’ve seen is someone who is personally driven to make a powerful change in the experience of people behind bars.”

Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who had been part of the coalition that pushed a more extensive criminal justice bill during the Obama administration, first approached Mr. Kushner about the issue in the opening months of the administration last year and asked him to meet on the issue.

Mr. Kushner was inclined to get involved. The bigger question was whether his tough-on-crime father-in-law would support the legislation. Realizing that Mr. Trump was unlikely to be in favor of sentencing overhauls, Mr. Kushner decided to focus on prison overhauls and leave the sentencing piece of the puzzle to Jeff Sessions, the attorney general at the time.

Knowing that Mr. Trump learns by hearing from people, rather than from reading briefing books, Mr. Kushner arranged for blocks of “policy time” on his father-in-law’s schedule and flooded the zone, bringing conservative leaders and governors to explain how the mission fit in with Mr. Trump’s campaign promise of standing for the forgotten man.
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more at the link

MojoMan · Dec 17, 2018

Buck Turgidson · Dec 18, 2018

MojoMan said: ↑

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Well, not being a socially illiterate numbskull, I certainly wouldn't expect you or the cartoon guy to actually understand this legislation.

Os Trigonum · Dec 23, 2018

"credit where credit is due"

Credit where credit is due: Trump, with the encouragement of Jared Kushner and a bipartisan coalition of criminal justice reform advocates, came out publicly in support of the bill and that undoubtedly helped earn additional Republican votes. Among the supporters of the bill: Right on Crime, FreedomWorks, Americans For Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, Heritage Action, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, R Street Institute, Cut50, the ACLU, former Obama adviser Van Jones, and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

***

Norquist credited this bill as “a Republican bill” and noted that “it should’ve passed four years ago but Obama and [former Sen. Democratic Leader Harry] Reid and the Democrats refused to let it come forward lest it interfere with Hillary [Clinton’s presidential] campaign.”

“This is the last wholly sensible bill that will pass for the next two years,” added Norquist. “Anything reasonable promoted by Trump and supported by Republicans will be rejected by the Democrats.” He even predicted that Democrats would refuse to stand next to Trump when the bill is signed.

https://arcdigital.media/criminal-j...ss-in-a-sweeping-bipartisan-vote-c6303e3adc9d

adoo · Dec 23, 2018

Os Trigonum said: ↑

"credit where credit is due"

***

Norquist credited this bill as “a Republican bill” and noted that “it should’ve passed four years ago but Obama and [former Sen. Democratic Leader Harry] Reid and the Democrats refused to let it come forward lest it interfere with Hillary [Clinton’s presidential] campaign.”

https://arcdigital.media/criminal-j...ss-in-a-sweeping-bipartisan-vote-c6303e3adc9d
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there you go again, quoting a lie and presenting as gospel.

Norquist, the self-proclaimed crusader who infamously said a tax increase is not a tax (if done by Paul Ryan, cos it is a fee) , lied.
the ill-informed, such as you, are easy preys. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/when-is-a-tax-increae-not-a-tax-increase.257008/

this recent bill passed when hold-outs, such as Turtle face McConnel and wingnuts like King and jordan in the house,
succumbed to political pressure.

they were the same lawmakers people who held up the bill four years ago

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